while everyone is busy talking about the Wolfowitz scandal, also quietly making some headlines is the removal of the word "family planning" and "climate change" in recent WB documents, refelcting Bush policy more than WB policy. See below.
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Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We are writing to update you on new developments in the World Bank's plans
to review and approve the draft "Healthy Development: The World Bank
Strategy for Health, Nutrition, and Population Results" (HNP Strategy).
The date for the review has now been postponed to Tuesday, April 24,
providing additional time for advocacy to ensure that language on sexual
and reproductive health and rights, family planning and integrated HIV
prevention efforts are both included in the document and strengthened.

Update on commitments to reproductive health and family planning:

As we earlier reported, the original version of the HNP strategy leaked to
the press did not contain references to family planning—with the exception
of one reference to a prior Bank-funded project on family planning. Thanks
to repeated efforts by ministers who were concerned by the lack of
references to family planning, those references have been re-inserted in a
revised version, which is not currently available to the public.

Internal sources have, however, provided us with text from the draft
document referring to reproductive health and family planning. You can
review them at
http://www.pepfarwa tch.org/pubs/ Reinserted% 20ParagraphsFPan dRH.pdf

The re-inclusion of this language is only a partial victory as the
language itself is quite weak, and we are unable at this time to review
the context of the larger strategy in which this language has been
included. As a result, your efforts are still needed to ensure that the
Executive Directors of the World Bank, especially the Europeans, take
action to safeguard reproductive health and rights in World Bank-funded
programs.

We also need to hold those in positions of power accountable for their
mismanagement and for undermining World Bank policy. The fact that the
references were removed in the first place is indicative of a failure by
Bank management.

We urge you to contact Executive Directors before Tuesday.
A sample letter can be found at
http://www.pepfarwa tch.org/pubs/ CivilSocietyLett er4.19.07. doc
Please feel free to use the draft letter to send to Executive Directors or
to write your own.

The names, phone numbers and email addresses of the World Bank Executive
Directors can be found at: http://www.bicusa. org/en/Article. 92.aspx

For more information about this issue, see Nicole Gaouette's piece in the
Los Angeles Times (April 19)
http://www.latimes. com/features/ health/medicine/ la-na-worldbank1 9apr19,1, 2963249.story? ctrack=3& cset=true
and Sarah Boseley's piece in The Guardian (April 16)
http://www.guardian .co.uk/imf/ story/0,, 2058078,00. html

Also, visit the Government Accountability Project's website at
http://www.whistleb lower.org/ content/press_ detail.cfm? press_id= 893

As you know, the World Bank is a key agency for development cooperation.
We need its support if we are to deliver sexual and reproductive health
and rights for all by 2015.

Serra Sippel
Deputy Director
Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE)